CENTURY CITY – Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina used an appearance Sunday at a conference in Century City intended to promote civic participation among Jewish Iranian Americans to call for U.S. support for Israel and criticize Iran’s government.

“We must stand up unequivocally and declare that Israel is our most important friend and ally in the Middle East and that we will stand with her always no matter what,” Fiorina said, drawing applause from the crowd estimated by organizers at about 1,200.

Fiorina also said the United States “must be clear and loud and unequivocal that we reject the regime” of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “do what is necessary to prevent” Iran from having nuclear weapons, and “stand with the people in Iran who are bravely risking their lives to stand up to the regime.”

Fiorina also said “our government should have been engaged in unilateral sanctions against Iran for far longer.”

“We must do whatever is necessary to try to thwart that regime with or without the agreement of Russia, China and the United Nations,” Fiorina said at 30 Years After’s Second Biennial Civic Conference at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza,

In response to a question from a reporter following her speech, Fiorina said she was “distressed that the Obama administration has injected itself” into the Middle East peace negotiations “the way it has.”

“The settlement freeze was an unprecedented, unilateral gesture of good faith on the Israeli government’s part,” Fiorina said.

“These were peace talks that were supposed to be engaged in without preconditions and here there are preconditions demanded by (Palestine Authority) President (Mahmoud) Abbas and unfortunately supported by President (Barack) Obama.”

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the campaign of Fiorina’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was scheduled to speak later at a dinner at the conference.

Various Democratic elected officials invited to the conference addressed it either by telephone or videotaped messages because of a union boycott of Hyatt Corp. hotels prompted by its inability to reach an agreement with its workers on a new contract.

The conference also included sessions on Iran’s nuclear program and human rights violations, the relationship between the United States and Israel, philanthropy as activism, social entrepreneurship and policy challenges facing Los Angeles and California.

The conference’s theme was “Now is our time to learn, to act, to lead.” It “went above and beyond what we were expecting,” both it terms of attendance and the quality of speakers, said Debbie Farnoush, a co-founder of 30 Years After and its executive vice president.

“We’re trying to inspire people to become social entrepreneurs within their communities and lead,” Farnoush told City News Service.

The speakers, which also included retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, and former CIA Director James Woolsey, “were very engaging and very well received by the audience,” Farnoush said.

30 Years After is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2007 to promote participation in American political, civic and Jewish life by Iranian American Jews.